The Knicks reach survival mode without their downed stars
Only 47 seconds into the Knicks’ meeting on the road with the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team they are battling for playoff seedings in the Eastern Conference, their All-Star point guard went down with a left knee contusion. It initially appeared to be much worse. But an X-ray and subsequent MRI revealed no serious damage to Brunson’s knee.
The Knicks persevered and gave a valiant effort in defeating the Cavaliers 107-98, including a marathon-like 47 minutes and 16 points from backup point guard Miles “Deuce” McBride, who was never taken out by head coach Thibodeau once he entered the game to fill in for Brunson.
However the Knicks couldn’t overcome a lineup without Brunson, Julius Randle, OG Aunoby, Mitchell Robinson, four of their regular starters, on Tuesday night in losing to the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden 116-110. Since February 3, the Knicks have gone 4-9 in their last 13 games, after they had gone 15-2 from January 1 through February 1, the best record in the NBA during that stretch.
Injuries have decimated the Knicks. They have accepted it as a reason, not an excuse. But they are also realistic about their ability to compete, even with the league’s lower rung of teams, without four of their best players.
“We are doing everything we can,” said McBride. “Doing as much as we can recovery wise and guys who are playing big minutes, we are working on the chemistry of guys coming in and out. It is tough but you have just got to keep moving forward.”
His teammate Josh Hart echoed McBride’s viewpoint.
“The margin for error is small, obviously with all the guys that we have out,” said Knicks guard-forward Hart after the loss to the Hawks. “We can’t have those slow starts and then spending so much energy to try to get back even and tie the game, get back in the game. We just didn’t have it in that fourth, we just got to find a way.”
Thibodeau is trying to find the right balance of offense and defense to win games while altering his disadvantaged roster. It has proven unsuccessful over the last month as the Knicks have been distinctly outmanned in most of their match ups.
They are 36-26 heading into tomorrow’s game at MSG versus the Orlando Magic. When Wednesday night’s NBA schedule tipped-off, the Knicks were the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference but just .5 games ahead of the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers, which were both 35-26.
Hart said he tries not to focus on seedings with the Knicks having 20 regular season games remaining.
“Sometimes when it pops up. I don’t, I’m not thinking about it too much. At the end of the day, I feel like when this team gets healthy, we can make noise,” Hart observed optimistically. “Obviously, you don’t want to be in the play-in. Want to have that little 3, 4, 5 days of rest right into that first round, but the cliche tip is just take it one game at a time and obviously we’re going to get guys back soon. But we got to keep pushing. At the end of the day, wherever we are, I like this team.”
Following the Magic, the Knicks will play the Philadelphia 76ers Sunday and Tuesday night at the Garden before going on a four-game Western Conference road trip starting next Thursday versus the Portland Trailblazers.
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